Environment

Workshop on preparing proposals
Red soil threatens lagoon
Enuamanu recycling
Pacific tuna boats struggle for survival
More cleaning needed for water intakes

Workshop on preparing proposals

Facilitator Damien Sweeney (standing) discusses proposal writing with a group at the workshop. 13050821

The Cook Islands is the first in a list of small island states to benefit from a workshop on how to prepare proposals.

The four-day event began yesterday, and aims to help members of government departments and non-government organisations (NGOs) to implement projects and find funding for them.

The workshop is one part of an umbrella project called ‘Global climate change alliance: Pacific small island states’, which is implemented by Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and funded by the European Union.

The workshop in the Cooks is facilitated by Australian contractors Damien Sweeney and Martin Pritchard of Pacific Research and Evaluation Associates. The pair also plan to apply for the job when the workshop is taken to other countries, such as Tonga, Niue and Tuvalu.

Sweeney and Pritchard have based the workshop around what is called a ‘logical framework approach’, which outlines steps to create a project proposal that is clear and concise.

The steps include identifying the issue that needs to be addressed, talking to stakeholders, coming up with possible solutions and making a strategy for getting the project underway.

Sweeney said it is important to develop a clear understanding of any project by talking to those affected by the issue.

“If it’s a project targeting youth, make sure you speak to the youth. You can speak to a representative of the group, but also talk to the actual members of the target group.”

Project manager Dr Gillian Chambers said the aims of the Global Climate Change Alliance project include building climate resilience, ensuring the topic of climate change is integrated into government departments, and building the capacity of small island states.

• Briar Douglas

Red soil threatens lagoon

A project at Blackrock was stopped due to the danger of red soil polluting the lagoon. 13050925

A project at Blackrock has been halted by the National Environment Service (NES).

Cook Islands News received a news tip to txt188 that read: “Is your paper and is NES going to address the blatant sand mining and dumping that is going on at Blackrock? Someone should be prosecuted.”

NES has confirmed that the project, being undertaken by contractors T&M Heather, was in breach of environmental rules.

During a routine inspection, NES discovered workers were filling a hole in the sand with red soil. The project is close to the shoreline, and there is a danger the red soil will pollute the lagoon.

After NES informed T&M Heather of this, the project was put on hold.

Manager of the project Jojo Heather was overseas at the time. The project will not resume until after he returns on Monday.

T&M Heather has been invited to comment.

• Briar Douglas

Enuamanu recycling

New recycling bins at Enuamanu School on the island of Atiu. 13051029

Enuamanu School students can now practise good recycling habits thanks to new recycling bins now stationed at the Atiu island school.

School principal Nooroa Teipo, school chairman Kau Henry and his committee along with the Mokoero Aorangi community, Atiu Sports Association and the Atiu Community Fitness Centre worked closely together to seek funds for the project at the school.

The team were able to source funding from the International Olympic Committee via the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee to purchase the recycling and waste bins.

A special assembly was held at the school to unveil the bins which are sure to help Atiu youth learn good habits in recycling their waste at school and at home.

• Matariki Wilson

Pacific tuna boats struggle for survival

Bigeye tuna in New Caledonia waters. PHOTO: E. CLUA 13050122

Tuna boat operators targeting albacore in the South Pacific are under threat of being pushed out of operation altogether due to the steady growth in numbers of subsidised foreign fishing vessels.

According to a recent report by the Forum Fisheries Agency, certain foreign fishing fleets were receiving subsidies in the form of fuel offsets, new vessel construction, preferential tax treatment and payment for access fees.

“These subsidies fuel the plunder of South Pacific albacore and are now leading to localised depletions and declines in catch rates across the fishery, jeopardising the livelihoods of locally owned small-scale tuna boat operators in Pacific Island countries” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific oceans campaigner, Duncan Williams.

Greenpeace is urging Pacific nations attending the 85th Annual Forum Fisheries Committee meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands this week to support local, sustainable small-scale fisheries over foreign owned, large-scale fishing vessels and fleets that utilise high-impact fishing practices and operate under a ‘pay, fish and go’ model.

“Favourable policies must be put in place by governments at the national and regional levels to assist this transformation of Pacific fisheries.”

“There is growing demand in major markets for sustainable tuna caught by socially responsible fisheries. Our region is well positioned to develop its small-scale and community level tuna fisheries to meet this demand and bring the benefits back to our countries and island communities,” added Greenpeace oceans campaigner, Duncan Williams.

Greenpeace is campaigning for a global network of marine reserves covering 40 per cent of the world’s oceans, including the four high seas pockets known as the Pacific Commons to be all declared off limits to fishing. The environmental group is also seeking a ban on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) in purse seine fisheries and a 50 per cent reduction in the catch of bigeye tuna.

The 85th Annual FFC Meeting concludes this Friday, May 17.

• Greenpeace

Concerns have been raised about the cleaning of water intakes on Rarotonga, which are pictured here in 2009. 09112444

Concerns have been raised about the clearing of the island’s water intakes, but Water Works officer Adrian Teotahi says it is normal for debris to collect in the intakes’ filters after rainfall.

A Tupapa resident was walking past the villages’ water intake last week, when she noticed there was no water flowing in.

Seeing the wire mesh screen leading into the intake was completely covered by leaves and debris, she poked several holes in the debris with a stick.

“Immediately the water started flowing in, just from those few holes I made,” she said.

Teotahi said the island’s intakes are cleaned at least twice a week, and sometimes three times a week.

The team who cleans the intakes is normally made up of four people, but they are currently down to three because their resources are stretched by the Project City water system upgrades, he said.

Teotahi said he would ideally like to clean the intakes each day.

“Unless you clean it every day, of course the mess and debris collects. It’s normal after rain.”

He said he would need two teams of workers rather than one, in order to clean the island’s 12 intakes every day.

He said Water Works has not received any calls to inform them about blockages from leaves and debris at the intakes.

“If we did we would go up and clean it.”

He said a lack of water coming through household pipes is sometimes due to blockages in other areas of the system.

“People need to clean their filters before they call us,” he said.

Teotahi said the water levels in the island’s intakes improved after recent rain, but are “slowly coming down again”.

• Briar Douglas